Trailer house dolly



Jan. 28, 1958 Filed Sept. 10, 1954 BY M,

United States Patent TRAILER 'HOUSEDQLLY :Richard R. Love, lhrhl,;-IdahoApplicatio Sept m e 0, v 4, ifi ial No- 45 6 3rfllaims. (Cl.:;28.01-476)This inventionrelatesto atrailer house dollyfor use u d n a upp ins r ervA Obi 0 h in en n i tm v d a a pas ron n rine en ive, e v c ab e. do sfo tra rsti a so n-obi cfmviin emiqn t i r i ea a do y w i h whe use iccni n tion w h a t aile w nermithacki s-an mane er n wit h .sa e s a ithetrailer weredifiq lymql lifi T i i c om li hed y Pro din a do y.whichi lon udin y ris din tha the wheels and dollyframe do not pivotabout a vertical axis ,yvithrespect to the trailer.

=Q e, of. h obie sv o the entio t p ovidea. do y which. is ri d lon i uly- Thisis an impertan s fe y eat o ex pl in cas thebrak 9 th towi svehicleare appliedquickly thereisno possibility of the inertiaof thetrailencausing the trailer to jackknife or ferce the, dolly sideways.which usuallyresults in a trailer accident.

,A further, object is ,to provide a unique wheel arrangem nt or. denies-Acco i t he vi' ven iqn a st pped or lon i ud n ly s p e ar n eme of weel ar providedon thedolly. The ,Wheels are rigidlyinterconnected. Oneofthelobjectsattained by theprovision -of a special ,wheel construetiondescribed hereinafter is the reduction of .the tendency of rtrailers tosway.

Anotherobject .which is accomplished is to provide a generally ,steadiertrailer supporting system .for supporting. onev end of. a trailer.

A still furtherrobject of :the invention is toprovide a specialwheelsystern for a tr ailer dolly .whicl1 has rigidity, yebwhich is alsoextremely simple inconstruction. .The wheel system .is designed sothatit will withstand the strains of turning as in guiding a housetrailer around eu pnimb kingup.

0ther objeetsof myinvention are to provide a trailer dolly withthesmooth riding gualities of an oscillating tandem axle construction,to obtain smooth.riding .without the'tossand sway of a springmounteddolly,-to eliminate continuous trouble with spring rnountings, toeliminate the hazards resulting from .brokensprings, and ingeneral-;tp;provide azsafe,simple andeasy to-handle dolly.

Still other objects of the invention include the prov sic Qfat aile thisarra gm l d n a dolly framerwhichis piv tal abouta horizontalaxis andaffixed tonn -e d :Q atraile tttam dolly ra h a hit h. a on zend n auniqa ran m sur n wheelsat itscopp s t end- Thesezan o er o je an a ant Wbecome apparent from :the .;f ollo wing description and the accom- R lyig drawin in whi h:

Fi ure :1 is .3101 p a e .o t aile h s d l y constructed in accordance,Wlthtlle-invention as connected to a trailer.

Figure 2- is, a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is aviv'eWtaken al ng-line 33.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the dollyconstruction.

2,821,410 Eatented Jan. 28, 1958 Similar reference characters intheseveral. figures indicate sirnilar. parts.

Referring now in particularto the drawings the.-dolly isindicatedbyreference character 10. The, dolly comprises spaced si de .fr :;1rne.members ,12 and 14. .These membersare connected at one -end byahitchsupport andjack base 16. The hitch .18 is connected to, the.forward end of the hitchand jack support 1,6,,andajack can be applied tothe baseZt). The oppositeend of the side frame members are spaced ,asseenat 22. and-they are proyicled with spaced parallel sections24.811116. These sections are adapted to receive a unique .wheelarrangement 28. The latter comprises a unitary S-frame member3,0forrned. of a single piece of metal bent to. the shape indicated.T-his member has two pockets 32 and SA- whieh can be referredto aswheelreceiving orretaining pockets. The .S-member is connected to theparallel projections 24, 26 by pivot bolts 36, 38. Thesecan. be providedWlIhhQELQS QQttEI pins, bearings, etc. The bearings canbeniqunted in theS -frame members or in the side frame members.

A first shaft 40 is connected to spacedparallel legs of the S- fra rnemember. This shaft supports afirst wheel 42 Spacers 44 positionthe wheelcentrally ofthe pocket 32. The shaft 50 is fixedly secured to theS-frame and peredro le a in a nse o a h ide h wh thusproviding a strongassembly. The secondshaft- 46 is securedto the two spaced parallelS-frame members in arnan ner similar to the first shaft. Wheel 43, is.supported onthe second shaft. The axles 40 and 46 arespa ced on op gsites de o th p ot ta of n ct c t S-fran eto the side frame members.Thefirstwheel 42 is pivotal about-an axis longitudinally spaced to oneside ofthe axisof pivotal connection of mes-frame t-o. thesideframemembers. Wheel 48 is pivotedon an axis longitudinally .spacedto theopposite side of the axis of pivotal eonnectionof. the S-frame tothe side frame members.

Shaft supportsStl, 52 are rigidly connected to theside frame membersadjacent their centers. These supports include plates54 and '56. Plates56 extend parallel to projections 24 and 26. Sleeve 57 rigidly connectsto plates 54 56. Shaft 5,8 is rigidly supported in side frame mernbers12 and 14.and plates56. Shaft 58 extends parallel to axles 40, 46 and36, 38. The trailer has spaced frame members 60 and 62 whichextendroughly parallel to frame members 12 and 14. Frame members 60, 62;are affixed to the trailer and at their forward ends have spacedparallel legs.64, 66. A U-shaped support strap 68 :iS rigidly connectedto the members 60, 62, adjacent the forwardends of the latter members.The U.- s haped strap is in intimate contact with the legs .64, 66. Thissupport strap has depending legs 69 which pivotally receive shaft 53.The shaft can be provided with nuts and cotter pins for retaining it inposition.

The supports 50 and 52 cooperate with the depending legs 69 of theU-shaped frame member to keep the dolly centered. Rub plates for spacingcollars 70 can be used toposition the dolly and prevent undue wear. Inother words, the plates 56 and the depending leg 69 can have additionalplate members connected thereto to bear the wearand maintain the dollyin proper position between the members 60 and 62, or the collars 70illustrated in Fig.3 canbe used.

Figure 4 illustrates the details of construction of the shafts 4t), 46and theirconnection with the wheels and 8 frame. 'It is seen in Fig. 4that shaft 46 comprises a tubular cylindrical member having steps forreceiving bearings 71, 72'which cooperate with suitable races ontheshaft and in-the wheel hub. Grease retainers such as'74 arealso used andseat-on collars76. These collars closely lit the shaft 46 and serve tospace the bearings and thus the wheel from the S-frame member 30. Shaft46 has a fiat sheet metal head 78 at one end which is received withinthe S-frame. At its opposite end the shaft is threaded as at 80 andthreadingly engage the S-frame. A flat sheet metal head is used toreduce the space between the S-frame and the dolly frame side members.The fiat sheet metal head is welded to the shaft or bolt 46. When thebearings 82 and bolts 36 are removed from the 8- frame, head 78 can berotated to engage shaft 46 with the frame member 30. When the shaft isfully inserted the head 78 is bent over as indicated at 84.

The thread 81) is a fine thread. The axles or bolts 40 and 46 serve notonly as a means of connecting the wheels, but also support andstrengthen the S-frame. Furthermore, they hold and adjust the taperedroller, wheel bearings, or other bearings used. The S-frame ends canflex to facilitate the bearing adjustment. As the axles are screwedfurther in the S-frame the end of the S-frame will abut against thecollar 76 and adjust the wheel bearings. When bent over the square endof the S-frame the sheet metal heads of the shaft form a lock for theshaft and a shield for the forward end of the S-frame preventing it fromhooking onto weeds, wire, etc. This also will function to scrape mudfrom the wheel.

The unique dolly construction has many advantages. In particular it addsincreased stability to the trailer. The effect of road obstructions anddepressions is minimized by the stepped arrangement of the wheels. Thewheels 42 and 48 follow the contour of the ground, but the frame ends 24and 26 will move in vertical planes only approximately half the distanceof the wheels. This half movement is effected in the same period of timeas the wheels require to travel the full distance. Thus, both the amountand speed of vertical motion of ends 24 and 26 are reduced. Assumingthis reduction to be one-half, it may be said that the ride is fourtimes as smooth. Furthermore, each bump is absorbed by two tires insteadof one. This design of dolly is exceptionally smooth riding even overrough country roads. Of particular importance is the fact that there ismuch greater stability when turning the trailer or going around a curve.As an additional advantage the construction provides leverage forraising and lowering the forward end -of the trailer. A most importantadvantage of the construction disclosed is the absence of springs. Thisnot only increases stability, but obviously reduces cost and maintenanceand results in a much safer trailer dolly construction.

The S-frame construction is extremely simple, yet it is (of necessity) avery rigid and strong construction. The shafts 40 and 46 interconnectthe legs of the S-frame and greatly increases its stability. These arein reality no unsupported free ends of the frame. The rigid constructionthus provided can withstand considerable strain. It is to be noted thatthere is a skidding of the tires slightly sidewise when turning a curve.This necessity for skidding the wheels in order to turn produces astability in forward movement which is not obtained with a castering ormore flexible design. The construction of the S-frame is strong enoughto withstand skidding and the tires are not adversely affected.Experience has shown that there is no greater wear on the tires than inthe case of the front tires of automobiles which are constantly skiddingsideways.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, itwill be understood that variations in details of form may be madewithout departure from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A trailer house dolly comprising spaced side frame members, saidmembers being connected to each other at one end and spaced from eachother at their opposite ends, hitch means attached to said members atsaid one end for connecting said dolly to a towing means, a shaftadapted for pivotal attachment about a transverse axis to the forwardportion of a trailer frame extending through both of said frame members,said shaft being horizontally positioned and forming an A-shapedstructure with said side frame members, said other end of said framemembers being interconnected by a generally S-shaped member, saidS-shaped member extending between said side frame members adjacent saidother end of said side frame members, means connecting said S-shapedframe member to said side frame members for pivotal movement of saidS-shaped frame member between said frame members about a horizontal axisonly which is parallel to said shaft axis, said S-shaped member formingtwo spaced pockets, a wheel pivotally connected to said 8- shaped memberand received in one of said pockets, a second wheel pivotally connectedto said S-shaped member and received in the second pocket of saidS-shaped member, both said wheels being pivotal about horizontal axesonly which are parallel to said shaft axis.

2. A trailer house dolly comprising a generally horizontally disposed Aframe, means for pivotally connecting said frame to a trailer forpivotal movement about a I horizontal axis extending transversely withrespect to said frame and trailer, a hitch means connected to the apexof said frame and a wheel assembly interconnecting the legs of saidA-shaped frame adjacent the end removed from said apex, said wheelassembly being connected to said frame for pivotal movement about ahorizontal axis only which is parallel to said first named axis, thelatter horizontal axis being disposed a greater distance from said apexthan said means for pivotally connecting said frame to a trailer, andbeing substantially in the same horizontal plane of said dolly as thelast named axis, said wheel assembly comprising a pair of wheels mountedfor'piva otal movement about a horizontal axis only which is parallel tosaid first named axis.

3. A trailer house dolly comprising spaced side frame members, saidmembers being connected to each other at one end and spaced from eachother at the opposite end, a shaft adapted for pivotal attachment abouta transverse axis to the forward portion of a trailer frame extendinghorizontally through said members at approximately the mid pointthereof, said shaft forming an A-shaped structure with said members, theother ends of said frame members being spaced apart, an S-shaped memberposi-' tioned intermediate said other ends of said members, meanspivotally connecting said S-shaped member to said side frame members forpivotal movement about a horizontal axis only which is parallel to saidshaft axis, said horizontal axis being spaced a greater distance fromsaid apex than said shaft and extending parallel to said shaft andsubstantially in the same horizontal plane of said frame as said shaft,said S-shaped member having two spaced pockets, one of said pocketsopening outwardly laterally toward one side of said horizontal axis, theother of said pockets opening outwardly to the opposite side of saidhorizontal axis with said pockets lying in a common horizontal plane andbeing adjacent each other, a wheel received in one of said pockets, saidwheel being pivotally connected to said S-shaped member for pivotalmovement about an axis extending parallel to said shaft axis, the lastnamed axis being longitudinally spaced to one side of the axis ofpivotal connection of said S-shaped member .to said side frame members,a second wheel received in the other of said pockets, said second wheelbeing pivotally connected to said S-shaped member for pivotal movementabout an axis extending parallel to said shaft axis, the last named axisbeing spaced to the opposite side of said axis of pivotal connection ofsaid 8- shaped member to said side frame members.

Callaway May 9, 1939 Anderson June 3, 1941

